Printing apparatus for longitudinally extended cylindrical bodies



Aug. 11, 1959 .D. M. GILLIES ,ET AL v2,898,848 PRINTING APPARATUS FOR LONGiTUDINALLY EXTENDED C YLINDRICAL BODIES Filed June 18, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR. Duncan TTLGLHI S Charl e5 F. Spencer 12f. QM. 6&7 A ATORALEY' Aug. 11, 1959 D. M. GlLLlES ETAL 2,893,848

PRINTING APPARATUS FOR LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDED CYLINDRICAL BODIES Filed June 18, 1957 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Duncan 771 6111165 Charles F Spencer 112 K QL ATTORNEY PRINTING APPARATUS FOR LONGITUDT NALLY EXTENDED CYLINDRICAL BODIES Duncan M. Gillies and Charles F. Spencer, West Boylston, Mass., assignors to Duncan M. Gillies Company, Inc., West Boylston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 18, 1957, Serial No. 666,291 4 Claims. (Cl. 101-36) This invention relates to printing apparatus, and more particularly to a device which will serve for printing markings on a longitudinally moved cylindrical work piece, such as plastic coated wire, tubing or other longitudinally extended cylindrical body.

The invention pertains to improvements in the prior co-pending patent application of Duncan M. Gillies, Serial #433,206, filed May 28, 1954, which comprises a pair of marking wheels provided with engravings on concaved peripheries arranged for printing a marking on both sides of an elongated cylindrical body. In that construction one of the printing wheels is mounted on a fixed axis carried by a standard, and the second wheel is mounted on a pivotally swinging arm. The excess of ink is removed from the concave groove and the sides of the wheel by means of a set of wipers carried by a block which is pivotally mounted in a fixed position on the standard.

The primary object of this invention is to improve such a construction by forming a printing unit of a printing wheel, its associated wipers and ink pot.

A further object is to mount two separate printing units in such a manner that the wheels may be adjustably positioned relative to work pieces of different sizes without disturbing the relationship of the various ele ments of the printing unit.

Another object is to provide a wiper unit in which the ink removed by a wiper from the concave groove and the ink removed from the sides of the wheel by wiper blades are caused to remain on the same sides of the wipers and to flow back into the pot without smearing other parts of the construction.

A further object is to provide mountings for the engraving wheels, the ink pots and the associated parts which permit ready removability of the wheels.

Another object is to provide a construction which is efficient for various printing uses and wherein the parts are readily adjustable for varying the pressure of the printing wheels on the work and which insures a satisfactory removal of excess ink from the wheels. Other objects will be apparent in the following disclosure.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention:

Fig. l is a front elevation of the apparatus, with parts removed for clarity of illustration;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation, with the ink wiper unit removed;

Fig. 3 is a view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail of the mounting of one of the wheels.

In the embodiment illustrated, the engraving wheels 1 and their associated ink pots 2 and wipers 3 are arranged as separate printing units which are separately movable to provide for printing different sizes of work pieces. The 'wheels are each shaped to provide a peripheral concave groove which carries the intaglio en- 2,898,848 Patented Aug. 11, 1959 graving. The wheel sides 4 preferably form sharp ridges 5 with the grooves so that the surfaces may be efficiently wiped to remove the excess ink.

The mount for the printing units comprises an L- shaped member (Fig. 2) formed of a vertical plate 12 supported against tipping by the laterally projecting flat plate 13 rigidly secured thereto. A narrow vertical standard 14 is suitably secured as by welding or bolts to the vertical plate 12 of the support. A triangular block 15 serves as a brace between parts 12 and 13 to provide a rigid structure.

The wheels are mounted in peripheral opposition and arranged for printing opposite sides of a work piece, such as a plastitc coated wire, that is passed vertically therebetween. The two engraving wheels 1 are each mounted on separately movable and preferably rocking supports. These supports are shown as L-shaped plates having horizontal arms 16 facing laterally in a right and left hand arrangement. The lower vertical arm 17 of each of these L-shaped plates is pivotally mounted on a pivot 18 which has an enlarged head 19 countersunk in a recess in the arm. These pivot mounts 18 may comprise shoulder screws which are threaded into the vertical support plate 12 and are suitably arranged to provide for a free rocking movement of the L-shaped wheel supports. A bar 22 is suitably secured near the top portion of the vertical plate 12 by means of cap screws 23 threaded into the plate 12 and spaced therefrom by blocks 24. The spacing is such as to provide a swinging movement for each of the vertical arms 17 of the wheel supports but prevent any material lateral movement thereof. A circular cam plate 25 is eccentrically mounted on a suitable pivot pin 26 carried by the vertical standard plate 12. This may be adjusted by loosening the cap screw 26 and swinging the plate 25 to a desired position and then tightening the cap screw. Thus each of the wheel supporting plates 16, 17 may be permitted only a limited rocking movement.

The wheels 1 may be each mounted on the horizontal arm 16 of the rocking L-shaped plate as shown in Fig. 5 The wheel 1 is mounted on a reduced end of a shaft 30 and against an enlarged part 31 providing a shoulder. A nut 32 and collar 33 serve to hold the wheel against the shoulder. In the rear of that shoulder, there is formed a series of serrations or ink-throwing rings 35 which are arranged above and capable of throwing any excessink back into the pot 2 therebeneath or primarily away from the side of the engraving wheel, if any ink should by chance escape to this rotating shaft. At the rear of these ink throwing rings 35, the shaft is reduced to form a cylindrical portion 38 which is mounted in suitable bearings, such as needle or roller type bearings 39 and 40. The needle bearings are mounted in a cylindrical block 42 which is provided with a reduced portion 43 secured in a hole in the arm 16, as by being press-fitted therein, so that the block 42 swings with the wheel carrier arm 16. The block 42 has an outer hub 44 carrying the outer bearings 40. The hub 44 carries a collar 45 adjustably positioned thereon by means of a set screw 46. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the shaft has a slot 48 near its outer end which is adapted to receive a latch 50 pivotally mounted on a screw 51 projecting from the side of the collar 45. Hence, to remove the wheel and its shaft as a unit, it is merely necessary to lower the ink pot therebeneath, lift the latch 50 from the slot 48 and slide the wheel and shaft assembly towards the right.

To provide for removing the ink pot 2, the latter is a separate pan mounted on an L-shaped support having a horizontal plate portion 55 and a vertical portion 56.- The latter has a U-shape providing a vertical plate portion adapted to be slidably fitted against the front face,

of the downwardly depending portion 17 of the rocking arm and side flanges which fit against the two edge faces of the arm 17 and thus hold the pan support properly injposition. A clampingscrew 57-has its'shank mounted in the elongated slot 58 of the vertical portion 56 and screw threaded into the rocking arm 17; The slot and screw are so arranged-that the ink pot or pan 2-may-be lowered far enough to permit removal ofthe wheel or raised upwardly to a limiting point where the wheel'projects deeply into the ink carried in the ink pan. The ink pot 'atthe right hand side of-Fig. 1 has been removed for clarity of illustration. As shown at the right in Fig. 1, the rocking support '16, 17 may be tilted to the dot and dash line position, but the ink pot 2 as-well as the ink scraping unit 3 will move therewith, so that the parts retain their initial positions of assembly for any-rocking position of the wheel supporting'arm. Each ink pot 2 may be adjustably slid along the plate 55 and clamped in position by means of a'clamping screw 60 threaded through a block 61 which is carried by a front upright flange of the plate 55. The ink pot may be held immovable against an L-shaped stop 63 suitably mounted on the horizontal plate 55.

The Wheel supporting arms 16 are urged towards each otherby a spring 66 (Fig. 1') which is secured at one end to a lug 67 upstanding from the right hand wheel arm '16. A lug68 projecting upwardly from the left hand plate 16 has a threaded hole carrying a screw 69 which is connected through a turnbuckle 70 with the spring 66. Thus, by adjusting the screw 69 by means of its knurled head, the tension on the spring may be varied to hold the engraving wheels with the right degree of pressure against the work piece 72.

r The work piece 72 is moved vertically between the two wheels, and downwardly when the wipers are arranged angularly in the upwardlytilted-direction shown at the left in Fig. 1. It is guided by two rotary V-grooved guide wheels 73 which are resiliently urged bya helical compression spring 74 againstan' adjustably positioned 'nut threaded on the pivot pin 75 (Fig. 1). Thus, the guide wheels may move axially as required by the moving work piece. The pins 75 are carried ,by an arm 76 mounted centrally by means of a pivot pin 77 on the upstanding standard 14. This pin 77 may have a screw thread and nut adapted to clamp the arm 76 in any desired adjusted position, the parts being so arranged that the wire may be gripped in the V-grooves of the two wheels 73 and suitably guided to the engraving wheels.

A lug or block 78 projecting laterally from the vertical standard 14 as shown in Fig. 1, has two stops engaging the inner edge faces of the rocking arms 16. This comprises a screw threaded member 79 threaded into the block -78. The knurled head 80 has a projecting portion engaging the adjacent edge face of the arm'16. Thus, by separately adjusting these two stops, theinnermost positions of the wheels may bedetermined, and particularly'so that when the work piece or wire 72 is removed from between the wheels, they cannot be forced against each other by the spring 66 to their damage.

Each ink wiper unit 2 comprises an -L-shaped block82 fixed on a pivot pin 83 which is positioned in either one of two holes 84 in the block. The pin 83 is suitably mounted within the laterally projecting arm 16 of the wheel support. A pair of collars 85 on opposite sides of the arm 16 are suitably secured to adjust the endwise position of the pivot pin 83 which carries the wiper block. The pin 83 is rotatably mounted in the plate Mend it is urged to a position in which its wipers engage the faces of the adjacent wheel by means of an adjustable spring mount. This comprises the spring-88 attached at one end to an arm 89 fixed to the end of the pivot shaft 83. Suitable set screws secure the arm 89 to the block and the latter to the shaft 83- so that the parts move as a unit. The outer end of each spring 88 is connected to a screw 90 threaded into an arm 92 projecting laterallyfrom the under faceof the arm 16 ofthe wheel mount. Thus, by adjusting the screw 90, the :tension of the wiper block system against the printing wheel may be varied.

The wipers comprise a solid or a hollow cylindrical body 94, made preferably of a suitable plastic, such as polyethylene, which is so mounted, as shown at the left of Fig. 1, :that it fits within and drags against the concave surface of the engraving groove.

The doctor or wiper 94 must fit this groove accurately so as to remove all excess ink that :is .not found in the intaglio engraving on the concave :face of the wheel. The wheel rotates upwardly against that wiper 94 and the ink therefrom is intended .to run back down the face of the wheel. To remove the ink from the side of the wheel and to carry downwardly any ink that is caught on the under side of the cylindrical wiper 94, we employ a U-shaped plate 95 providing a blade 96 on each side of the wheel. The plate95 is preferably made of aU-shaped piece of metal plate, such as a thin flexible spring steel, having inner sharpened edge portions 96 fitting snugly against the side faces of the wheel. The plate 95 may be shaped as shown in Fig. 1 to provide a forward downwardly opening channel which catches and directs the excess ink towards the pan 2. A rear step shaped part 97 fits against the under side of the block 82 and is secured in place by a set screw. This holds the side wipers in place. The wiper unit position is determined by the longitudinal adjustment of-the cylindrical wiper 94, which may be ad- .justably positionedby means'of a set screw 98 in the block 82. The U-shaped side wiper blades 96 may be made'separate to provide for lateral adjustment, but we have found that theU-shaped plate is adequate for the purpose and may be readily replaced when the blade has become worn. A cylindrical pin 99 (Fig. 1) is slidably mounted in a horizontal hole in the arm 16 in such a position that it may be slid forward to hold a wiper unit in a retracted position as shown at the right hand side of Fig. 1.

Since each swinging -arm and the assembled parts constitutes a single printing unit then, if desired, one arm need not be employed if only one side of a work piece is to be marked. However, the assembly is primarily intended for marking both sides of a wire, as described, which is forcibly drawn by a suitable drum or the like past the marking wheels. Since the printing units are eachmounted on a swinging arm, their assembled relationship is not changed when the wheels are replaced by other sizes and the arms are swung accordout through its bearings.

ingly, except as it is necessary to replace or adjust the wiper units and to adjust the ink pans for different sizes of wheels. When a wheel is replaced, it is merely necessary to release the catch 50 and slide the wheel shaft Since the pan 2 tilts with the arm 17, it'may'be'adjusted on its'mount to give an efficient -ink delivery to the wheel. A primary feature lies in the fact that when a wire unit has run out and is to be replaced With another wire of the same size, all of the adjustments remain fixed, and there is no waste of time involved in the changeover. Other advantages will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

If the printing wheel is to print a wide work piece, such as a rubber hose pipe, the periphery may be 'made only wide enough to carry the engraving within a suitable margin and the radius of curvature of the concave groove 5 maybe infinite, so that the periphery is cylindrical. The large diameter work piece does not require the interfitting relationship with the wheel as is needed for guiding a very narrow wire to insure registry of the engraving with the convex cylindrical work surface. In the latter case, the concave groove .wraps around the work as much as 60 to degrees, so that ,the engraving is imprinted around that convex body and not merely on afiattened line of contact. It willalso be appreciated that the .wheels' mayuhavetheir parallel axles arranged at any desired angle relative to the work bench and the ink will be fed thereto by a suitable feeder, but an ink pot will be located beneath each wheel where it will catch the drip. Hence the printing unit and the work piece may be suitably positioned as desired.

It will now be appreciated that various modifications may be made in the construction within the scope of our invention and that the above disclosure is to be interpreted as setting forth the principles and detailed construction of a preferred embodiment and not as imposing limitations on the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for printing opposite sides of an extended longitudinally moved cylindrical workpiece comprising a pair of peripherally opposed Wheels, each of which has a concave groove provided with an intaglio engraving thereon and shaped to interfit with the workpiece, a standard, a pair of wheel supports movably mounted on the standard for holding the wheels against the work, a bearing carried on each support, an axle fixed to and rotatable with each Wheel, said bearing and axle provided for an axial removal of the axle from the bearing, locking means for holding the axle in place and removably positioning the wheel in correct relationship with the work, an ink pot removably secured on each support and arranged to supply ink to the under portion of the associated Wheel, means for adjustably positioning the ink pots in spaced relationship on the supports to provide clearance for a workpiece moving therebetween, means providing for movement of the pots to positions which permit axial removal of the wheel, means for moving the supports laterally and urging the Wheels toward the work, and doctors for removing the excess ink from the sides and groove of each wheel and returning it to the pot beneath.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the axle locking means comprises a bearing housing mounted on the movable support, the end of the axle projecting outwardly through the housing and having a peripheral groove, locating means on the wheel end of the axle engaging one end of the housing, a member adjustably fixed on the housing near the projecting end of the axle, and a latch movably mounted on said member which releasably rides in the groove and locks the axle and its wheel in an operative position.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which each wheel support is pivotally mounted at its lower end on the standard, and comprising means arranged to swing the wheels and ink pots in a fixed relationship towards and from the Work, the Wheel axles being mounted on the upper portions of the pivoted supports.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 comprising a spring arranged to move the supports towards the Work with an adjustable pressure and two adjustable stops mounted on the standard which position the wheels relative to the work and insure a predetermined printing contact and pressure of the wheels against the Work.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,958,717 Schake et a1. May 15, 1934 2,168,431 Olson Aug. 8, 1939 2,185,223 Paynter Jan. 2, 1940 2,186,555 Phillips Ian. 9, 1940 2,333,172 Grupe Nov. 2, 1943 2,605,684 Nagels et al. Aug. 5, 1952 2,674,184 Forbes Apr. 6, 1954 2,713,306 Janke July 19, 1955 2,815,710 Pearson Dec. 10, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 152,876 Australia Aug. 18, 1953 

